Development of villages important to make India developed nation: President

New Delhi, Dec 11 (PTI) Noting that 64 per cent of the country's population resides in rural areas, President Droupadi Murmu said on Wednesday that the development of villages is important to make India a developed nation.

Conferring the National Panchayat Awards upon 45 panchayats, she said the government has made serious efforts in the past decade for the empowerment of panchayats with an aim to achieve concrete results.

"The foundation of a developed India could be laid only on the basis of self-reliant and capable local bodies. Panchayats should try to become self-reliant by developing their own sources of revenue. This self-reliance will provide self-confidence to the gram sabhas and strength to the country," Murmu said.

According to a statement, the President said about 64 per cent of the country's population lives in villages. "Therefore, the development and empowerment of villages and villagers is important to make India a developed nation," she said.

National Panchayat Awards were conferred upon 45 panchayats -- 17 of which are led by women -- in recognition of their exemplary efforts in driving inclusive and sustainable development at the grassroots level.

Murmu congratulated all awardees and said this award is a testimony to their dedication and efforts. She expressed confidence that the honour will encourage them to do even better work and inspire other gram panchayats to make meaningful efforts towards village development.

The President said the Panchayati Raj institutions are empowering women politically. "It is a matter of happiness that women representatives are playing an important role in bringing about positive changes at the grassroots level," she said.

She urged them to discharge their duties as elected representatives in the Panchayats fearlessly and with all their efficiency.

Elections make public representatives responsible towards the people and therefore, it is very important that panchayat elections take place timely and fairly, the president said. Pointing towards the instances of violence during polls and even afterwards, Murmu said elections should always be held in a cordial atmosphere. "It should be remembered that the villagers are choosing their own representatives from among themselves, for their own good." The President said the objective of the Panchayati Raj system is to make public representatives and officials accountable and to increase transparency in the administration.

Most of the disputes in villages are such that they can be resolved at the local level, she said and urged all elected representatives to try to resolve the disputes among the villagers at the panchayat level itself.

The National Panchayat Awards 2024 include categories such as the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar, Nanaji Deshmukh Sar​vottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar, Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar, Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar, and Panchayat Kshamta Nirmaan Sarvottam Sansthan Puraskar.

These awards aim to recognise and encourage Panchayats for their efforts in poverty alleviation, health, child welfare, water conservation, sanitation, infrastructure, social justice, governance, and women empowerment. PTI AO AO NSD NSD